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Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against ICE for Illegally Withholding Over $300 Million in Bond Money from Immigrant Families

October 30, 2024 (1 min read)

Envision Freedom Fund, the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Oct. 29, 2024

"A groundbreaking class action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), challenging the agency’s systemic failure to return bond money to tens of thousands of immigrant families. The lawsuit seeks to rectify ICE’s illegal withholding of hundreds of millions of dollars in bond payments, predominantly affecting low-income households. Immigration bonds, which are set at the discretion of ICE and immigration judges, allow noncitizens facing removal proceedings to be released from detention while their cases are decided. The national average bond amount is $6,000. While these amounts are unaffordable for most, families and friends of people in detention who are able to pay are contractually entitled to have the money returned, with interest, once the immigration case has concluded. However, ICE regularly fails to return these funds, even when all conditions have been met and proceedings have concluded. The class representative, Douglas Cortez, signed a contract with ICE in November 2013, for $10,000 to have his friend released from detention. The friend complied with the conditions of the bond and in August 2023, his proceedings were dismissed. Under the terms of the contract, the bond should have been canceled by ICE at that time, and Mr. Cortez should have received notice of the cancellation and been refunded the $10,000 cash deposit, plus interest. More than one year later, that has not happened. The lawsuit, filed today by Gupta Wessler LLP and Motley Rice LLC, grows out of a partnership with Envision Freedom Fund and the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and seeks to certify a national class of individuals who posted bonds for detained individuals."

Associated Press coverage here.  Bond Refund Lawsuit info here.